


After All That's Happened

by MaeBlueJay



Series: After All [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Abusive Neil Hargrove, Angst, Bring tissues, Character Death, Death, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Maxine "Max" Mayfield Friendship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Feels, Gen, Long, Neil Hargrove Being an Asshole, Neil Hargrove's A+ Parenting, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, This will make you cry, Wakes & Funerals, why am i writing such a sad thing?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26960539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeBlueJay/pseuds/MaeBlueJay
Summary: Everything changed for Max on July 4th. When everything goes wrong, can it ever go right?Max After Billy's death. Deals with abuse, sadness, and guilt.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Maxine "Max" Mayfield & Lucas Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Steve Harrington & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Susan Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield
Series: After All [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2014669
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	After All That's Happened

**Author's Note:**

> So, ummm, don't really know why I'm writing this.... I mean, I had a dream a few nights ago where Max was at Billy's funeral, but my dreams are whack so it didn't make much sense. It did, however, spark a creative side in me that now I need to write about. (ALSO TELL ME IF THERE ARE ANY GRAMMAR MISTAKES!!!) So enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: This will be pretty heavy and very angsty, so be prepared.

Everything was spinning in Max's mind as she looked at Billy with tearful eyes. Black blood spluttered everywhere, and his chest had a gooey black substance coming out of it. If it were any other circumstance, Max would have vomited at the sight. She didn't though. Instead, she cried out for her step-brother to wake up. His last words were etched in her mind like a stain that would never go away. _I'm sorry._ She barely noticed Eleven hugging her, and each breath felt like blades. Smoke filled the air, and it was getting difficult to breath. Suddenly, Max heard someone else call her name. _Lucas._ He was almost flying down the stairs, along with Nancy, who was calling to Mike. Behind them was the rest of the group, who were a few feet away from the other two. Nancy reached Mike first, and Max saw her slide to the ground and embrace him and examine his forehead, asking him questions Max couldn't quite make out. Lucas reached Max next and El let her go so she could hug Lucas. Lucas might as well have tackled her as he half rammed into her and half suffocated her in a giant embrace.

"Max, are you okay?! Oh my god... Holy shit..." She cried into his shoulder for a moment before croaking out a response. 

"Billy... he's..." Lucas pulled away from her to look at the dead Billy, and then once again hugged her. 

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry Max..." Max sobbed harder, and Lucas only pulled her tighter. Max could barely hear footsteps coming towards her through her sobbing, but she could tell multiple people were walking in her direction. 

"He's dead...." She could hear Nancy say, sounding shocked.

"I- this is insane.... Are you 3 okay," Steve said. She knew he was talking to Mike, El, and her, but she didn't look up.

"Yeah, just dizzy," Mike said, sounding tired. A loud sound came overhead, and Max looked up to see helicopters coming down.

"About time," she heard Jonathan say, but she didn't quite understand who he was referencing to through her confusion. Suddenly, Max heard a crash at the front door, and she jumped. 

"HANDS UP, HANDS UP!" Everyone put up their hands at once, and she looked up and saw people in military jackets. She put her hands up, but drew her attention back to Billy. Suddenly, someone grabbed both of her hands, and she looked up. One of the soldier's was putting she and her friends in handcuff's. 

"No.. please stop," Max said weakly, too tired to make a half decent command. Everyone else, however, was shouting at the soldiers to let them go. The soldier forced her up, and she complied weakly. She sobbed as she was dragged away from Billy, knowing that this was probably the last time she would see his body. _Goodbye... **brother**_. As they were all forced outside of the mall, each of them were brought to different tents. Max was handcuffed to a chair, and after a minute, a large man walked into the tent. He was very muscular, and had a bald head. He was probably in his early 40's, but Max was never good at age. He sat down in a chair across from her, and lowered himself to meet her face. He then pulled out a recorder and started it.

"Name?"

"Max...Maxine Mayfield..."

"Age?"

"14."

"Parents names?"

"Susan Hargrove and my step dad is Neil Hargrove."

"Have any siblings?" Max started to sob again, and the man waited for her to stop.

"Billy... Billy Hargrove.... my step brother."

"And why did you start crying?"

"He... he died.... in there.... next to that _thing_..." The man shook his head, offering a sort of condolence before continuing. 

"You know what that thing is?"

"Yes..."

"So you _are_ familiar with what that is?"

"Yeah... last November... and the lab..." The man nodded his head in understanding.

"Can you tell me everything that happened, this year and last year?" Max nodded, and told him everything she knew. When she was done, he didn't say anything for a moment. Max could tell he was thinking to himself, and she didn't blame him. _Must be a real shocking story._ Suddenly, another man entered the tent. Max recognized him vaguely, and it took her a moment to realize he was Dr. Owens. Owens whispered to the man, and after a second the man uncuffed her. He motioned for her to follow him, and she did so. He led her to an empty ambulance, and she sat in it. A EMT came over to her a started asking her a million different questions, confusing Max. She was able to answer a few, but the EMT was talking to fast for her to answer everything. Suddenly, she saw Lucas walking over to her, and when he reached her he sat next to her. It felt like forever until the EMT left both of them alone, going to go check on someone else. 

"You okay," Lucas asked. Max only nodded, and he took her hand. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. Se was still crying a little bit, but she was almost all out of tears. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Joyce and Will hugging, and El get up to look for Hopper. Suddenly, Max saw El start to cry, and it took a moment for it to catch up to Max what was happening. _Hopper._ Sure, Hopper could be a little wild and kind of annoying, but she never expected or wanted something like _this._ She wanted to run to El and hug her, give her the same type of comfort El gave her, but she was too tired and exhausted. Lucas must have noticed too, as he let out an _oh shit. Oh shit indeed..._

* * *

At some point in that next hour, Erica and Dustin returned. Erica choose to give Lucas and Max space, which was shocking, and Dustin ran over to Steve. Max had been asked if she wanted to come to Lucas's house that night, and on any other day she would have declined, but this time it was almost an instant yes. Max could go back to Neil or her mother, and she couldn't walk by Bill's room tonight, so when the Sinclair's arrived, Max hopped in the car. Both of Lucas's parents must have known what had happened to Max, as they didn't question a thing, and when they arrived home, they didn't make her sleep with Erica, and instead let her sleep with Lucas. Mrs. Sinclair pulled out an airmat and put it in Lucas's room. Max must have stayed awake, looking at the ceiling and crying for at least another 3 hours before getting up. Right now, she needed Lucas. She moved to his bed and sat on it, trying to be as quiet as possible. She failed, as she saw his eye's flutter open. 

"Max," he asked tiredly. 

"I'm sorry-"

"No, it's okay," Lucas said getting up and sitting next to her. Max felt her mouth move faster than her brain, and she spilled everything.

"I just- Billy... he's gone... and what will Neil say? My mom? I'm just... I'm so...."

"Scared?" Max looked at him and nodded. He put his arm around her and she felt this wave of affection rush through her. Suddenly, despite everything that had happened that night, she kissed him with such a passion she thought she was going crazy. _She was going crazy_. Every emotion was built in this kiss, her lips wrapped around his, and Lucas noticed. He returned it, and when they pulled away, she started sobbing. 

"I... why did I-"

"Emotions.... it's okay Max...." 

"It's just... Billy, he sucked, but he was... he was my step-brother. I guess despite it all, I still cared for him...." Lucas sighed, and Max could see empathy in his eyes. "I don't even know what to do tomorrow... Neil, I don't know what he will do... and my mom.... I mean, they know where I am.... the police told them, but they don't know about... well, _us._ Neil doesn't really know who you are, only your name.... and my mom doesn't either..... I just-"

"Max, it's going to be okay," Lucas whispered to her, cutting her off. 

"Is it?" Lucas nodded, and Max sniffled. 

"It's going to be hard, but it will be okay. He died saving El..."

" _El_..." Both of them sat in silence for a minute before Lucas spoke.

"I know... her own dad.... _Hopper..._ " 

"Yeah..." Lucas looked at Max before asking her a question.

"What did happen? After we distracted the mindflayer? How did you get those _,_ " Lucas asked, pointing to the long bruise on Max's cheek and the scar on her forehead.

"I- well, we made our way to the exit as fast as we could but when we got outside Billy saw us. He chased us inside and ten we got cornered. I _tried_ to get through to him, but... well... I'm not 100% sure what happened next, but I do remember a lot of pain. The next thing I do remember was waking up on the ground and loooking over and seeing Mike. Once I woke him up, we looked around for El, but she wasn't there. We ran out to go find her and saw Billy looking at the mindflayer before he..." Lucas nodded slowly when she was done, trying to wrap his mind around everything. 

"Max, I-" 

"I know... and I'm fine I think." 

"I'm.... I'm really sorry." Max didn't respond, but instead leaned on him. He put his chin on her head, and they stayed like that for a while until Lucas fell asleep. Max didn't blame him, it had been a long day, but she wouldn't be able to sleep for a while. Instead, she layed him in the bed and pulled the sheets over him, and she walked back to her airmat, looking at the ceiling. Tomorrow, all hell was going to break loose. 

* * *

The next day, as she expected, was maybe worse than the night before. Her mom came to the house to get Max, and when Max looked at her, she regretted it. Her mother looked worse then Max last night, her hair uncombed and her face badly bruised. _Neil._ Max didn't say anything until they had pulled away from the Sinclair's house, but as soon as it was out of sight, Max turned to her mom.

"Mom, Neil did this, didn't he?" Susan only looked ahead, not turning to look at Max, but she did speak.

"I'm okay Max... I just.... Neil is out at the bar right now. Just don't get in his path, okay? He is having a really hard time-"

"Mom," Max cut in, "He _hurt_ you. Please..."

"Max... I'm okay..." Max turned away from her om, not wanting to speak to her. _Why won't she just leave him? He's an asshole._ When they arrived home, Max went straight to her mom, not daring to look at Billy's. Her room looked so empty with Billy, even though he was never in her room. _The whole house feels empty._ She locked her door and sat on her bed. None of Billy's awful music was playing, no loud sounds came from the other room, no yelling, no middle fingers, _nothing._ And it all felt wrong. Everything was different and weird and... gone. She looked out her window where she would sneak off so often, to get away from Billy. Now... now she just wanted him back. She felt a tear roll down her face and she let herself cry. It's what she had been doing best the last 24 hours anyway. Even thought Billy was a huge asshole, he was family, and it hurt. 

A few hours later Neil came home. Max saw his car pull up into the driveway and her heart skipped a beat. She heard the car slam shut, and a few moments later she heard the front door burst open. 

"Susan, where is Max," Max heard him say, obviously drunk. 

"She's in her bedroom..." She heard loud footsteps coming to the door, and heard a large bang.

"Open the damn door!" _Open the damn door._ It sounded just like how Billy had said it, which Max shivered at. 

"Neil please-" Max heard a slapping sound and heard her mother shriek in pain. _Shit!_

"Please stop it," Max yelled through her door.

"You are the reason he is dead you piece of shit!" Max started sobbing, and Neil must have heard. "Cry then! Go ahead!"

"Neil stop it," Susan yelled.

"Shut the hell up Susan!" Another slap was heard. _I have to get out of here._ Max ran over to her window, opening it fast and jumped out of it. She landed on the ground with a hard thud, cutting her knee and her chin. She couldn't care less, though. Max ran like hell, not looking back. The closest place to her house was the Byers, and El was there, so she ran that way. She was exhausted, getting no sleep the previous night, hurt, and scared, so it was a miracle how she got to the Byers. Whem she rang the doorbell, Jonathan answered. He looked at her in shock before ushering her inside, obviously confused. 

"Max, you look like hell, what happened," he asked.

"My step-dad...." Jonathan nodded and ran to get Joyce. Both of them ran to where Max was in the living room, and Joyce started asking her questions.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just cut my knee and chin."

"Why?"

"Neil.. he.... he came home drunk and started screaming at me to get out of my room, screaming at me how Billy's death was my fault.... my mom tried to help but he slapped her. I saw bruises this morning and she told me not to worry but...." Max began to cry. She wasn't sure why she was being so truthful, or why she was spilling everything out, but it was like she had to. She needed to tell the truth. Joyce sat next to her on the couch and held her close, like a mother should. Max cried into her shoulder, not fully understanding what she had to do next. Suddenly, Max heard a door open, and looked up to see Eleven. She could tell that El had been crying, and she felt a wave of sorrow flood over her. Hopper and El had been so close, they had this perfect father-daughter relationship, and it hurt to see the state El was in. Eleven looked at Max for a moment and put two in two together, figuring it must be something having to do with Billy, or something along those lines. 

"Max..." El said in a whisper, and Joyce looked to both of them. 

"I'm going to get the police, Max, okay?" Max thought to herself for a moment, not sure if she wanted that, but she was tired to argue. 

"Okay." Joyce got up and El took her place on the couch silently. Max sniffled, and El put her head on Max's shoulder. Jonathan, still standing, looked to both of them before following his mother. Both Eleven and Max stayed that way for a few minutes, both quietly crying, before El spoke up.

"Billy.... I'm so sorry.... Max, I really am..." Max looked to her new best friend and nodded.

"I'm sorry too. Hopper...." El nodded and both sighed at the same time. It was still day outside, but by this point the sun was setting. The police arrived within about 10 minutes and Max was asked to go to the porch with one of the officers. She walked outside with him and was told to sit on one of the chairs, and he sat opposite to him. It was almost Deja-vu, as she had done the same thing the other night. _Weird how that works..._ The policeman started asking her for her name and age, which she told him quietly, and then he asked her what had happened. She managed to keep herself together, not wanting to cry in-front of more people, not wanting to look more like a child. Once she had finished her story, the police asked her more questions about Neil, what he was like, had he done this sort of thing before. She answered yes, as Billy had been beaten quite often, and felt ashamed when he asked her why she had never come before. _Because it wasn't me... Because Billy never did... Because maybe I would be hurt...._ She felt selfish. She felt awful. Billy died for Max and her friends, and never once did she sacrifice for him. When the questioning was over, the police asked who she would like to stay with that night. At first Lucas popped into her mind, but when she thought about it, the Byers seemed like a better choice. 

"Here." The officer nodded, and they left to go to the Hargrove's. They told Max to come to the station tomorrow morning, and Joyce told her that she would drive her. Max didn't eat much that night, only eating a few chips, even though Joyce had offered her more. When it was time for ed, Max and El slept in Will's old room, as Will moved in with Jonathan for the mean time. it was about 12am, and Max still hadn't slept. _It's been 2 days..._ She tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, trying to find anyway to sleep at all. Suddenly, a voice came from the bed.

"I can't sleep either." _Eleven._ Max looked up to see El looking at her. Max sighed and got up to sit on the bed.

"It's just... It feels too crazy," Max said, looking at El, "I mean... he's gone. _Hopper_ is..." Max caught herself just in time not to say it, but El finished what she was saying.

"... in the blackhole..." Max looked at her confused, not quite understanding where El had gotten that from, but knowing what El was saying. El noticed Max's confusion, as she started again. "Hopper... he told me that's where Sara went... his girl... he said she left him..." At first Max thought El was talking about his lover, but all of a sudden she realized what Eleven went. _His girl.. his daughter..._ Max nodded, and El looked out the window to the night stars. 

"That's.... awful..." El nodded, and Max saw a tear run down her face. Under any other circumstance Max would have hugged her, but hugs could only do so much. Saying sorry could only do so much. So she just sat there, looking out of the window too. 

"Billy..." El said quietly, causeing Max to turn to her. El looked at Max in the eye before continuing. "Billy was a hero. He was consumed by that thing, and he wasn't himself anymore. When he was about to let the mindflayer do whatever to me, I looked at him.... I told him about his mom, about what I saw... how she was pretty... how she was kind and good. I told him about what she wore, and how she smiled. I told him that he was happy. I saw something change in him. A tear ran down his face, and he nodded, and he was back, even if only a bit of him. He stood up and I thought it was the end, but... he sacrificed himself...." Max started to sob, not even caring about anything, not caring if anyone heard her, not caring if it wasn't like her. She just sobbed. El nodded and moved closer to her friend, and they both just cried. 

* * *

The next morning Joyce took her to the police station. Max was almost shocked to see Neil there, thinking that going to the police would do nothing. She was told that he had been arrested on assault and child endangerment, and that her mom was okay and just needed stitches in her cheek. She was told that all she had to do was to write down what happened and was asked where she wanted to stay. She told them that she wanted to stay with her mom, and after she wrote down everything, she was free to go. She was happy it was a short trip because she didn't want to see Neil's face for more than 2 seconds. Joyce drove her back to Max's house and before Max got out of the car, Joyce stopped her.

"Listen. If anything happens, and I mean anything, please tell me." Max nodded and got out of the car and walked into her house. What she saw shocked her. Susan was on the couch drinking a bear, which she never did, and was watching the news. Her mom was obviously drunk, which was seeming to be a pattern in this house, and as soon as Max closed to door her mom looked at her in a daze. 

"Max," she said quietly. 

"Mom, what.. what happened..." 

"I'm fine, really..." Max looked at her mom in shock, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Mom.. please stop drinking..." Max walked over to the beer bottle and dumped it out in the sink. Her mom didn't answer her and instead focused on the TV. Max looked back at her mom for a moment before walking to her room. By this point, Max was exhausted and need sleep, so she laid on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. _My life is a living hell...._ Max closed her eyes, too tired to think anymore, and drifted off.

* * *

The following 3 days past slowly, making Max feel even worse. Susan had kicked Neil out of the house once he was released, which Max was at least a bit relived about. The thing that was killing her, however, was planning Billy's funeral. Everyone who hadn't been at Starcourt that day was told that a fire broke out and lots of people died, and Billy had saved the group. Max was satisfied with this story, but still saddened that her family would never quite understand the extent of how much Billy was a hero. The coffin had been picked out, and everything had been arranged, so they were just waiting 2 more days to hold the funeral. Hoppers had been yesterday, and it was one of the hardest things Max has ever been to, but she knows that Billy's will be harder. Currently, Max was at Lucas's, not wanting to be at her house overhearing Neil and her mom having over the phone fights. Lucas had helped her with the funeral and with the planning, which she found to be very helpful with so much stress. They in the living room, looking for photo's of Billy to use at the after service, Ms. Sinclair in the kitchen making them lunch as it was 12:30. Ms. Sinclair had been like a mother figure for Max while her mom was drinking and fighting, and she had even offered to let Max stay over, which Max had always declined. Max didn't need to be seen as more weak than she had lately. She knew she could get through this, and pretending she was okay had gotten easier these few days. 

"What about this one," Lucas said, snapping her focus back. The photo he had was when Billy was very little, maybe 3, and was holding a fish he had caught. 

"I like that one," Max said quietly. Max continued to look at some more photos, and Lucas put the photo in the save pile. Ms. Sinclair entered the room and told them that lunch was ready, and she called down Erica. They 3 of them sat at the table, and Ms. Sinclair went to go clean the counter. 

Max sat for a moment before turning back to the two of them to tell them something. 

"When we are done, come upstairs, okay," Max whispered.

"Upstairs," they both asked at the same time, making Max almost laugh. 

"Yes, both of you. I need to ask you something without your mom in the room." Both agreed with that, and they finished there food. They all went upstairs to Lucas's room, and Max sat on the bed with Lucas and Erica sat on the chair. 

"So, why are we here," Lucas asked.

"I want to hear what happened, the full story, of what happened to us at Starcourt. I know some bits but not everything." 

"Well, I'll start then," Erica said after a moment. "You see, Steve, Robin, and Dustin asked me if I could fit inside a vent at Scoops Ahoy, and I said yes but under one condition and that was free ice cream. They agreed, and that night I crawled through the vent to a weird looking room and got them in. We opened this box, and inside there was this green goop. We tried to leave, but the door closed in on us and they were to stupid to figure it out, and it turns out that room was an elevator, and we dropped to the secret Russian place. Once inside we stayed there all night until finally in the morning we escaped. Well, skipping the minor things, Steve and Robin ended up being caught after we saw this machine thing and Dustin and I escaped through the vents. We ended up saving a drugged Steve and Robin and got them back to the surface where we sat in back to the future and... well... you know the rest." _Isn't she sassy?_ She then realized why Erica was acting different. _It's because of Billy..._ Max nodded and turned to Lucas. 

"What happened after we got split up?" 

"Well, we got into the car and Billy almost ran us over but Steve and Robin crashed the car into Billy's so we were okay. The mindflayer chased us and then turned around. Next thing we saw when we got back to Starcourt was the mindflayer over El and we began throwing fireworks at it. You can figure out the rest." Max nodded and looked down. 

"Why do you ask anyway," Erica said.

"I don't know.. I just.. I'm curious... Did Billy do anything else?" Both of them shook their heads, and Max sighed. 

"Max-" Lucas said, but Max cut him off.

"It's okay, really." They sat there for a while before Max suggested they go back downstairs and find more photos. 

* * *

The day of the funeral came so quickly it shocked Max. She wasn't ready for it in anyway possible, so putting on her black dress was more painful than she had planned. After putting on her shoes, she came into the hallway and walked to her mothers room and found her mom putting on a necklace, luckily not drunk. She knew that Neil was going to be there, so there were even more reasons she wasn't thrilled. Max walked toward the living room, but something stopped her. She turned to Billy's old room, holding her breath. _Should I?_ Max looked at the wooden door, the one she learned to hate, with an emotion so strange she couldn't put it to words. A mix of sorrow maybe? A bit of guilt? She didn't know, but she didn't care. She carefully opened the door, and looked around. It was the exact same as she had left i. Nothing had changed, not even the smell of smoke. Not the unmade sheets. Not the hair gel. Nothing. It was almost like he hadn't died. Like he was still there. She walked around, looking at his magazines, at his mirror, and his clothes. The sight was almost sicking, as she knew this could have been prevented. His death could have never happened. She walked to the door, done seeing his room, and exited it. She closed the door behind her and found her mom in the living room waiting for her. 

"Ready," her mom asked. 

"I hope." 

The drive wasn't too long to the cemetery, only about 10 minutes. Once they had arrived, the funeral planner showed them to where all the people would wait for it to begin. Max stood there for another half hour, welcoming guest in. All of her friends showed up, along with Joyce, the parents, Steve, Robin, Erica, Jonathan, and Nancy. Even baby Holly too. Everyone was there. In all, about 200 people showed up, way more than Max had invited, but quickly realized most were girls he had gone to school with. _Of course._ Once everyone had arrived, they all came to their seats and sat down. Max and her mom were in the front, along with Neil too, although she could see Susan and Neil giving each other dirty looks. The opening part was normal as it was to be expected, and the priest said his words. Everyone stood up to sing songs and prayed as all funerals go. At the end, the priest looked over to Max and her family, and told everyone how strong her family was. When it was time for words from the family, Neil went first. 

"I come here today to honor my son, Billy Hargrove. He was an amazing young man and I am honored to call him my son. I feel pain and loss at his death, and I asked to to pray that he may live in heaven peacefully. Thank you." As Neil was done with his speech, Max got up. She had figured out the night Billy had died what she was going to say, and now she was going to do it, for Billy. Max stood at the podium and stood there for a moment, looking into the crowd.

"I was only about 7 or 8 when I met Billy. He and I didn't get along, honestly, but at the end of the day, I suppose we did care for each other, no matter the arguing. He and I are both hotheaded, so we could get challenge one another at patience, but when we needed it most, we could always count on each other. His death shocked me. He died saving me and my friends in the Starcourt fire, and he died protecting us. Protected my friend Jane. Protecting me. He died with honor, and he made a huge sacrifice. I think it's an understatement to say his death was heroic, and understatement to say he gave up everything. So, today, I ask you to please pay memory of this unsung hero. I ask you to mourn with me. I ask you in his wake. Thank you." Max stepped off the podium, and like that, the funeral was over. Everyone told her how sorry they were and said how sorry they were to Neil and Susan. When everyone went to the reception, Max excused herself outside to be alone. It was quite a pretty day, much like the day Billy had died on. Max found a bench and sat on it, looking at the sky. She pondered, thinking to herself how crazy her life was after moving to Hawkins. It was crazy, honestly, and Max didn't know the best way to respond. She had never been religious, so praying didn't feel right, and neither did anything else. It was just the memory of Billy that sat in her mind. He had been an ass to her, but he was family. He was her brother. He was home. And no matter what, nothing could change that. _Nothing._

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, holly shit, didn't realize it would be this long. Two, I loved writing this. I might make a spin-off because I loved this so much, so tell me what you think. ANYWAY, I hop you really enjoyed this, and do tell me if you want a spin-off.


End file.
